‘A true legend’ of the game
Coach left mark as Hall of Famer in 37-year career
On his most recent trip to Oklahoma State’s Gallagher-Iba Arena in 2018, Kelvin Sampson walked across the floor at the end of the game to where Eddie Sutton sat courtside in a wheelchair.
Formerly in-state rivals — Sutton at Oklahoma State and Sampson at Oklahoma — they had a mutual respect among colleagues in a close-knit college basketball coaching fraternity. As Sampson wrapped up the brief conversation, he put his arm around Sutton, touched his hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“When I first got to Oklahoma, it was really a blessing for me that coach Sut
ton was the coach at Oklahoma State,” Sampson, the University of Houston men’s basketball coach, said at the time. “He made me a better coach.”
As he began to talk about Sutton’s declining health in recent years, Sampson became emotional.
“It’s respect,” Sampson said, pausing to wipe away tears. “He was a special coach.”
Sutton, one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history and the first to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament, died Saturday night. He was 84.
In a statement, Sutton’s family said the Hall of Fame coach died of natural causes at his home in Tulsa, Okla., and was surrounded by his three sons and their families. Sutton’s wife of 54 years, Patsy, died in 2013.
“Dad and Mom treated their players like family and always shared the belief that his teachings went beyond the basketball court,” the family wrote. “He cherished the time he spent at every school and appreciated the support from their loyal fans. He believed they deserved so much credit in the success of his programs.”
After falling short as a finalist six times, Sutton was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 3, the final accomplishment in a 37year Division I career that produced 806 wins — ninth on the all-time list — 25 NCAA Tournament trips and three Final Four appearances. He took Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State to the NCAA Tournament.
Sutton will be posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in August as part of the class of 2020 class that also includes former NBA player and coach Rudy Tomjanovich, late NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, former Spurs great Tim Duncan, ex-NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett and Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey.
His family said Sutton “felt his recent Hall of Fame induction was an honor and a tribute to the great players he coached and outstanding assistant coaches that worked for him.”
Sutton played for legendary coach Henry Iba at Oklahoma State (then Oklahoma A&M) from 1955-58 and spent one season as an assistant there. After several years coaching high school basketball in Tulsa, Sutton helped found the men’s basketball program at College of Southern Idaho, then known as Southern Idaho Junior College, in 1967. Two years later, Sutton left for Creighton, where he made his first NCAA appearance with the Blue Jays in 1974.
From there, Sutton took over an Arkansas program that had only one NCAA appearance in the previous 25 years and turned the Razorbacks into a national powerhouse. Sutton led Arkansas to nine NCAA Tournaments in 11 seasons, including a Final Four trip in 1978 with a squad that featured the “Triplets” — versatile stars Sidney Moncrief, Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer.
One of his biggest moments was the “Pandemonium in Pine Bluff,” a reference by legendary NBC broadcaster Dick Enberg to the unranked Razorbacks’ 65-64 upset over topranked North Carolina and
Michael Jordan at Pine Bluff, Ark., in 1984.
At Arkansas, Sutton had his three core principles, the “3 D’s,” on the team’s practice jerseys: discipline, dedication and defense.
“A true legend,” current Arkansas coach Eric Musselman wrote on Twitter.
Former President Bill Clinton, who was the governor of Arkansas for part of Sutton’s tenure there, said the coach earned “a special place in the hearts of all Arkansans.”
“I’ll always remember him as a good man who cared about his players, got the best out of them and prepared them well for life after basketball,” Clinton said in a statement. “And I will always love him for being a ferocious, loyal friend.”
Sutton struggled with alcoholism late in his Arkansas tenure and angered some by saying he would have “crawled to Kentucky” — a comment he later said was directed at Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles — when he took the job at one of the nation’s most prestigious programs. He led the Wildcats to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances but resigned under pressure after the 1988-89 season amid an investigation into recruiting violations, although he was never implicated and always maintained his innocence.
Rex Chapman, a former Kentucky player, called Sutton “an unbelievable teacher of the game of basketball” and added, “I was fortunate and lucky to have learned from him.”
After sitting out one year — he underwent treatment for alcoholism during that time — Sutton returned in 1990 to Oklahoma State, where he enjoyed his greatest success and endured tragic loss.
In 16 seasons under Sutton, the Cowboys reached 13 NCAA Tournaments, including the Sweet 16 in his first season. Oklahoma State made five other trips to the Sweet 16, reached the Elite three times and enjoyed Final Four runs in 1995 and 2004. One of Sutton’s favorite lines: “Always have faith in God, yourself and the Cowboys.”
“A Hall of Fame coach with more than 800 wins, he revived our historic basketball program and will always be revered and loved by the #CowboyFamily,” Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis wrote in a tweet.
Tragedy struck the Cowboys program during the 2000-01 season when 10 people — two players, six staff members and two pilots — were killed when a private plane crashed returning home after a game at Colorado.
“I’ve had some tough experiences in my life, but that was the toughest thing when I got a call and was told that plane had gone down and everybody was gone,” Sutton said years later.
Sutton posted his 800th win in 2007-08 as interim coach at San Francisco.
Born in Bucklin, Kan., Sutton was the Associated Press national coach of the year twice (1978 and 1986), was voted conference coach of the year eight times, and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Arkansas named its practice gym in his honor, and the Gallagher-Iba Arena court at Oklahoma State bears his name.
“We lost a great man and coach today,” Sampson said. “So much respect for all he gave the game. RIP Coach Sutton.”
Sutton is survived by his sons Steve; Scott, the alltime winningest coach at Oral Roberts who is currently an assistant at Oklahoma State; Sean, who was the Cowboys’ coach for two seasons after his father stepped down and is now on the staff at Texas Tech; and nine grandchildren.
A public memorial service will be held at a date to be determined.